How to Dry Flowers for Resin Preservation

Written By Lee Brady

Updated August 2026

If flowers are going to be preserved in resin, one of the most important parts of the whole process happens before any resin is poured: the flowers need to be completely dry.

Putting fresh flowers straight into resin can trap moisture inside, which can cause discolouration, cloudiness and problems with the resin over time.

At Really Resin, we professionally dry flowers before they are arranged and encapsulated in resin. Depending on the flowers, this stage will usually take around 3–4 weeks.

But how are flowers actually dried for resin, and do all flowers behave the same way?

Why do flowers need to be dried before putting them in resin?

Fresh flowers contain a surprising amount of moisture.

Resin and moisture don’t mix particularly well, so flowers need to be properly dried before they can be preserved.

Drying also helps the flowers retain their shape and appearance so they can be arranged inside the finished keepsake.

It’s one of the reasons professional flower preservation isn’t simply a case of putting a bouquet into a mould and pouring resin over it.

How do we dry flowers for resin preservation?

There are several ways of drying flowers, including air drying, pressing and using silica gel.

For the flowers we preserve in resin, silica gel is often our preferred method because it helps draw moisture from the flower while retaining much more of its original three-dimensional shape.

The flowers are carefully prepared and placed into silica, making sure the petals are supported rather than simply burying the whole bouquet.

They are then left to dry gradually and checked throughout the process.

Different flowers dry at different rates, so we don’t treat every flower in a bouquet exactly the same way.

Which flowers dry well for resin?

Lots of flowers can be successfully preserved, including:

  • Roses

  • Peonies

  • Carnations

  • Sunflowers

  • Hydrangeas

  • Gypsophila

  • Daisies

  • Delphiniums

  • Lisianthus

  • Many types of foliage

Some flowers are naturally easier to preserve than others, though.

The size of the flower, the thickness of its petals, its moisture content and even how fresh it is when we receive it can all affect the finished result.

That’s why we always ask customers to send or bring their flowers to us as soon as reasonably possible after a wedding, funeral or other special occasion.

Will flowers stay exactly the same colour?

This is probably one of the most important things to understand about flower preservation:

Flowers are natural materials, so some colour change is completely normal.

White and cream flowers can develop warmer ivory or translucent tones. Reds can become deeper, while some pinks, purples and blues may change slightly during drying.

Flowers can also change again once they’re encapsulated in resin.

That doesn’t mean anything has gone wrong — it’s part of preserving a natural flower rather than creating an artificial replica of it.

We always aim to retain as much of the flower’s original appearance as possible, but no preservation method can guarantee that a flower will remain exactly the same colour forever.

Can you preserve flowers that have already started to wilt?

Often, yes.

We regularly receive flowers a few days after weddings and funerals, and a flower doesn’t necessarily become unusable just because it has started to wilt.

However, the sooner we receive them, the better.

Bruising, browning or damaged petals that are already present can’t simply be reversed during preservation, although in many cases we can carefully remove damaged outer petals or choose the best flowers from an arrangement.

If you’re unsure whether your flowers can still be preserved, don’t throw them away. Send us a photograph and we’ll happily take a look.

Can already-dried flowers be preserved in resin?

Yes. We can often work with flowers that have already been dried naturally or kept for some time.

Older dried flowers can be more fragile and may have already changed colour, so the finished appearance will naturally be different from flowers that come to us fresh.

But they can still make incredibly meaningful keepsakes — particularly when they’re flowers that have been kept from a wedding, funeral or another important moment.

What happens after the flowers are dry?

Once the flowers are completely dried, the creative part begins.

We arrange them inside your chosen mould or keepsake design before carefully encapsulating them in high-quality resin.

Depending on the flowers you have, they can be made into pieces such as hearts, blocks, spheres, arches, bookends, frames, coasters and smaller keepsakes.

The resin is poured and cured in stages before the piece is removed from the mould, finished, sanded where required and given its final clear finish.

Want us to preserve your flowers?

If you’ve recently had a wedding, funeral or another special occasion and would like to preserve your flowers, you don’t need to dry them yourself first.

Really Resin offers professional flower preservation from our base in Liverpool, with flowers accepted from customers throughout the UK.

You can see our Flower Preservation Range and Prices https://www.reallyresinuk.co.uk/full-product-range/arrangement or read [How to Send Your Flowers] for information about getting your flowers safely to us.

If you’re local to Liverpool, flowers can also be dropped off by arrangement.

Lee Brady